In Any Other World
by JadeWithEnvy
Summary: A plot bunny I've had for quite some time. T for some future Triggering content. Read at your discretion.  I suck at descriptions
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey there, welcome to my Hannibal Lecter fic, **_**In Any Other World. **_**I took the title from a song by Mika of the same name which I do not own. I don't own Dr. Lecter, Clarice Starling, Jack Crawford, or any other characters or anything else that isn't mine that I may use in here. **

**I do however, get to bend the rules a little bit… so, let's pretend for a moment that Silence of the Lambs went down about 3 years ago… this is going to be one of my first multi-chap fic, so I wish to make it easier on myself… I know I'm bending the rules, but the year honestly doesn't matter all that much in this fic, it's just the technology and music I'm caring about. I really hope that the time shift doesn't make the story unappealing… please try to read it? Thanks a ton 3 3**

**L.L**

Prologue:

It had been almost 3 years, but Dr. Lecter had decided to return to North America. Canada however, returning to the United States, even with the improvements he had made to his face, was still far too risky. Especially with eager Agent Starling on the alert.

Canada was quite beautiful this time of year. The leaves had just begun to change colour, and he was sure that the spectacle of the autumn leaves would be a sight to behold. It was his third month, in Canada, and his first in his new practice.

He had manufactured secure credentials, and secured a practice easily, however, finding patients was proving to be slow.

The city where he had established his current residency had few cultural assets, but their symphony orchestra was more than pleasant to listen to.

Tonight however, he had a different plan. He had decided to venture to the local high-school for a coffee house they had been advertising. There was to be entertainment and food, although Hannibal was searching for a certain delicacy the home-economics class wouldn't be able to manufacture.

He started on his walk, as he had not opted to buy a vehicle yet. _Tomorrow, I am visiting a dealership._ Hannibal pulled his coat collar up, and braced himself against the wind.

Half an hour later, he reached his destination. He walked into the school, and pulled out his wallet for the entry donation.

As he walked into the gymnasium, he noted with surprise, the artwork adorning the walls, presumably for sale. He browsed the various portraits, and landscapes, and was beginning to grow weary of the similarity, when an oil painting of Pisa caught his eye. He made a note of it, and decided to purchase it if it was still available at the end of the night.

He sat at an unoccupied table towards the gymnasium doors, and was joined by a young couple, much to his disappointment. As the waiters came around with the dainty trays, he noticed a particularly rude boy harassing a teenager who looked as if she were going to perform.

The first half was an hour long, and couldn't have ended sooner. He did not see the young woman the boy had been harassing, and Dr. Lecter was very much considering leaving, not wanting ot hear anymore shrieking pop music, or guitar riffs. However the spaces between acts were far too short to allow him to leave properly, and as he made to stand, the young lady at his table urged him to stay, assuring him that the next act would make up for its predecessors. The lights dimmed, the curtain drew, and the piano began.

Standing in the center of the stage was a girl who looked very much like a woman. She wore a very becoming navy blue dress, it went to her ankles, had wide straps, and showed enough skin to flatter her figure, but not make her look trashy. It glittered under the stage light. He realized this was the girl he had seen before. He sat forward in his chair, intrigued.

It was then that Dr. Lecter recognized the piano part that was playing, having memorized it himself. The girl opened her mouth and began to sang. The doctor closed his eyes, and took in every detail of her voice as she sang, being sure to store every moment of it in his palace. He opened his eyes, and took in her appearance as she sang the last notes: "Ave Maria." Her beautiful vibrato resonated in the building, and it took a moment for the stunned audience to begin the applause.

As the doctor left the building, thinking only of the Ave Maria, he took it upon himself to ask who he assumed to be a teacher,

"Excuse me ma'am?" She looked up at him. "Yes?" "Would you be able to tell me who sang the Ave Maria?" She smiled, "Jocelyn Engle, she has the best voice in the school." He nodded. "I can certainly agree." He turned, and left the building, not minding the cold on the way back home.

"Jocelyn Engle." He whispered quietly, remembering the feeling of her name on his lips. "I'll have to remember this one." And while the cold winds whispered their own songs, his mind was still on her last note, shimmering in the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks so much for reading! I hope you guys like it so far! **

Chapter One:

Jocelyn Engle walked to her locker, opened it, and began to gather her things. She put on her coat, grabbed her clarinet, and took her dance bag. "Talentless bitch." She heard a whisper behind her. She turned around, whoever had said it was gone. She closed her locker and was about to exit the school, when she heard a laugh… her laugh. _Jessica. _She turned around, looking for her best friend, but she was nowhere to be found.

_She must have been laughing with Lauren or something. I'll see her tomorrow, _Jocelyn thought to herself, pushing away the nagging thoughts at the back of her mind saying something was wrong. Smiling to herself thinking about the weekend she had planned with Jessica she left the school and walked to practice.

When she arrived at the studio, she was greeted by David, her hip-hop teacher. "Hey David, what's up?" she asked as he pulled her into a hug. "Not much kid, how are you?" "I'm doing fine." He let go, and smiled at her. "Ready to work your ass off?" She nodded enthusiastically and set her bags on the platform, taking her sweats and tank top out.

She went to the change room, and grabbed a stall. No matter how comfortable she was with quick changes, she would never be okay with being exposed for that long with so many other girls. She went back to the first studio and put her clothes in her bag, took out her sneakers, and grabbed a quick drink.

Suddenly she heard a screech, and her heart lept, "JOCELYN!" She didn't even have time to turn around before she was tackled by her old teacher, and now fellow dancer, Vikky. "Hi Viks! Long-time no see!" She said turning around in her friend's grasp and hugging her back. "I missed you Jocelyn!"

As always, Dave interrupted at the most opportune time possible with a call to warm up. "Okay guys! I hope you've had a good break, but we've really gotta work hard if we wanna be ready for our deadline!" And with that he put on Usher's OMG and started them running on the spot.

After a practice containing more choreography then Jocelyn had ever had thrown at her at once, and countless repeats and tweaks, practice was finally over. "Jocelyn, wanna come with us? We're going for sushi." She turned to see David's boyfriend Tyler smiling at her, "As much as I love you Tyler, I have to go… piano exam in 3 days."

David put his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders, "C'mon Joce!" he whined, "You spend alllll your time with the piano… I'm starting to think you love it more then me." She laughed and mock punched him, "David, I could never love a piano more then you." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine then. Be that way." He laughed. "Catcha later."

She smiled, and exited the studio. The walk home wasn't long, but it was peaceful and calming. When she got home, she was greeted by her mother, "Hi Jocelyn, how was practice?" She was pulling something out of the oven.

"Oh you know, same old same old. New choreo, run it, tweak it, run it again, repeat." She said smiling. Her mom turned around with the dish, it was a homemade pizza. Jocelyn noticed, not for the first time, how much she looked like her mom. They had the same black hair, though Jocelyn's went to her waist. The same pale skin, the same long arms and fingers. The biggest difference was their eyes. Her mother's were a chocolate brown, while Jocelyn's were a blue-grey.

"I'm just gonna go put my crap away and change kay?" Jocelyn grabbed her magazine off the table and went to her room." She heard her mom calling after her, "don't be too long honey!" After a pleasant dinner with her mother and little brother, Jocelyn retreated to the piano. She began to play. She had a grade 5 piano exam, in three days, and needed her scales up to tempo.

She had gone through scales and triads, and moved on to dominant seventh chords, when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it mom!" She yelled, and opened the door. She saw a man standing with a bouquet of flowers in one hand, a card in the other, he handed her the flowers and the car, and she read 'Uptown Florists' on his shirt.

"These are for Jocelyn Engle, please pass this along to her, thank you." He was fairly unprofessional, but she attributed it to the fact that he was probably new. "Thank you!" She said cheerfully. "Sweetheart, who was that?" Her mother walked down the stairs, it looked like she had just been cleaning.

Jocelyn held up the flowers, "Someone sent these for me…?" Her mom went to get a vase. Jocelyn went to the sink and began cutting the stems. "So, who's your secret admirer honey?" "Jeez mom, you sound like a teenager. There's a card, just let me read it out." She put the bouquet in the vase and opened the card.

_Talentingas grožis,_

_I had the pleasure of hearing your rendition of Ave Maria on Sunday at the theatre, brava. _

_I hope to be able to hear your voice again. _

_Sincerely- A fan. _

_P.S. Do you like the Black Eyed Susans? I should hope they are an appropriate flower choice. _

She stood puzzeled while her mother thought. "Well, Black Eyed Susans generally mean encouragement. Wait. You sang Ave Maria? Why didn't you tell me? I would have loved to have seen it, it's one of my favourite songs."

Jocelyn's face went red. She hadn't meant for anyone to find out, "Well I..." She was cut off by the door opening. _Great. Dad's home. Fan-fucking-tastic. _She put on her best mask, walked up to her father, and hugged him, "Hi dad, how are you?" She put on her best ‚'i'm your daughter' face and he smiled at her, he had laugh lines that crinkled every time he smiled, but his eyes always seemed empty.

"Church was good today Jocelyn, you should have been there." She shook her head in disbelief, "Dad, I had practice! I can't just miss practice for church." She scoffed.

John Engle stared at his daughter, "Your eternal salvation is worth more then a few dance steps Jocelyn, I hope you know that." She glared at him, he always said things like that. "I'm a good christian dad, I go to church every Sunday, I pray when I get up in the morning, when I go to sleep at night, silently before every meal, and about ten other times a day. I have a relationship with God that is beyond bibles and sermons. I don't know why you can't comprehend that, but it's how I am." She gave him a steady glare.

"Well Jocelyn, I'm very sorry you feel like that." And he looked at her like he was dissapointed in her. She looked him in the eyes defiantly until he left. Then she went back to her piano. Awhile later, Jocelyn was startled by a tap on the shoulder, "Honey, you should go to bed now, you've been playing for two hours, it's ten o'clock. And you have a big practice tomorrow." Jocelyn nodded, stood, and pushed in the stool.

"You know mom, the wierdest thing happened today," Her mother looked confused, "What happned sweetheart?" "Jessica hasn't been at school all week, and I don't know why. The weird part though? Today I heard her laugh, she was there, but she didn't say hi to me. Why would she be ignoring me?"

"I don't know honey, maybe you imagined it." Jocelyn shook her head, "I don't think so, but maybe... maybe it was someone else." She said goodnight to her mother, and walked up to her room. As soon as her head hit the pillow, sleep took her.

**AN: So, how do you like it? What can I fix? Tell me! Leave a review. I 3 them!**

**~JadeWithEnvy**


	3. Chapter 3

"I greet you all, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The mass had started… _ Please God, I love you, but give me an excuse to get out of here. Or at least a different priest please. _Jocelyn pleaded.

She was sick of listening to the same man tell her how to live her life. She went along with the mass, just playing the part everyone expected of her, repeating the responsorial psalm, singing the 'hallelujah' and the 'glory to God' She wasn't really there, not until the priest started his sermon.

"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." It was week two of 'the blessings offered to us by God if only we all act exactly the same.' She hated how priests thought everybody should act the same. Her individuality was her pride.

While she meditated on individuality, its purpose, and why God is okay with people being individual, the Mass passed, same old same old.

The family left, no one talking in the car. The silence was crushing Jocelyn, she wished someone would say something. Before long someone did, and of course Jocelyn regretted the wish. "So, what did you think of the sermon?" Her father asked the question week after week, but it always ended in an argument. "Don't John, just leave it please I can't stand another fight." The crushing silence returned, but Jocelyn was thankful for her mother's intervention.

They got out of the car, and Jocelyn went to her room. She was in the middle of an excellent book, when she heard a knock on her door. "Jocelyn, can I come in?" "Of course mom." Her mother opened the door.

She was holding a cloth. _Oh shit she found it. _"Honey, what's this?" She looked concerned. Jocelyn put on her very best mask. "I don't know, did you ask dad?" "Yes, he said it's not his. Jocelyn, this is blood here, and a lot of it."

Jocelyn shrugged, "I don't know what it is mom." Her mom could see through her mask though, and she knew better then to believe her daughter.

"Jocelyn, show me your wrists." She lifted her sleeves. Her mother gasped. "Jocelyn, sweetheart why would you do this to yourself?" Jocelyn looked at her, and saw the worry, but nothing was moving inside of her. "I don't know mom. I honestly couldn't tell you that." There were a few scars on her wrists, but they would heal.

Her mom took the cue, and said, "Honey, if you want to talk, I'm here, but I'll leave you now. Please don't do this again." Jocelyn merely nodded.

When she came downstairs for food, she heard her mom on the phone. Not wanting to interrupt, Jocelyn stood outside the kitchen and listened. "Tomorrow? That would be fantastic. She doesn't have a practice. Thanks doctor. You too." As she hung up Jocelyn walked in.

"Who was that mom?" Her mother shook her head, "Oh nobody." Jocelyn looked at her, "Mom, I heard you talking. You said something about how I don't have a practice tomorrow, and thanked a doctor. What's going on?" She sighed, and in that moment, Clara Engle looked older than she ever had to Jocelyn.

"Honey, I'm really quite worried about you and this cutting you've been doing, and I called a psychiatrist. Only one appointment, I'm just really worried, and I can't help you."

"What? Mom why did you do that? I'm fine I really am!" Her mother shook her head, "Jocelyn, I love you more than anything, and if you're hurting I want you to get help okay? It's just one appointment. You don't have to go again if you really don't want to."

"Why mom? I'll be fine, I really will. I promise I won't do anything else." She felt betrayed. _Et tu _Brute_? _She found Shakespeare's phrase floating around in her mind. "Honey, I know, but I can see you've been having trouble with something… and I really just want you to be okay."

From the look in her eyes, Jocelyn could tell her mother was sincere. "Okay mom, I'll do it. But just the one appointment." She was hugged, "Thank you sweetie." Jocelyn went back up to her room without practicing, to turn in early. Tomorrow was sure to be a long day.


End file.
